THE death of a young man in a head-on collision near Granville is a "sombre reminder" of the need to be extremely careful on the roads, a coroner has said.
Liam Cotter (pictured), a 20-year-old joiner, died from severe head injuries including a fractured skull, after the horrific crash on the main Dungannon to Aughnacloy Road.
He was a rear-seat passenger in a Mitsubishi Evolution which collided with
a Toyota Avensis as the Mitsubishi tried to overtake two cars near the Granville Industrial Estate in July 2008.
At an inquest on Thursday, witnesses claimed the Toyota didn't stop at a side road junction, pulling on to the main road and into the Mitsubishi's path.
Mr Cotter, from Killyliss Road near Eglish, was sitting behind his girlfriend, Lisa Barrett, who was in the front of the Mitsubishi along with its driver, Daniel Barclay.
Mr Barclay told the inquest that they had been planning to attend a 'diff' at Cookstown on July 6 2008.
However, the Mitsubishi had broken down twice and he decided not to go. Instead, Mr Barclay returned home, taking an unfamiliar route along the Granville Road in case of further trouble with the vehicle.
A restricted driver, Mr Barclay said he normally used the Dungannon bypass and had driven on the Granville Road "a couple of times".
Travelling in the direction of Aughnacloy, Mr Barclay went to overtake a Ford Focus being driven by Alphonsus Fox just past Granville, the inquest heard.
After passing that vehicle, Mr Barclay remained in the Dungannon-bound lane and tried to pass a second car, a Honda Civic, being driven by Carol Little.
However, Mrs Little recalled how a Toyota car then appeared from the Eskragh side road on the right. She said the car did not stop.
Mr Fox had also seen the Toyota Avensis approaching from the side road. He said the car "barely stopped" and continued on out.
One of Mr Barclay's friends, Ciaran Hegarty, who was following behind, also claimed the Toyota had not stopped at the junction.
The Toyota was being driven by Shibu Koshy, who was returning from work.
Mr Koshy, who had been driving for 25 years, including five in Northern Ireland, insisted he did stop at the junction.
"I came to the T-junction," he said. "Every day I stop and look both ways. That day I did the same", adding that he saw no vehicle coming.
After the collision, several witnesses recalled seeing Miss Barrett shouting at Mr Barclay, the Mitsubishi driver.
One, Nuala Musk, recalled: "She was shouting at the driver and swearing.
